The Convict and The Soldier
by karyra
Summary: One hundred glimpses into the lives of Jane Shepard and Jack. A 100 theme challenge.
1. Introduction

Jane Shepard didn't know exactly what she was seeing. Or even what she expected, really. A convict, yes. A biotic, that was in the file. A woman in nothing but straps for a shirt and a grudge against the whole of Cerberus? The whole of the Alliance probably hated Jack. Jane kind of hated her, with the brusque exterior and the rash attitude.

"I want access to Cerberus files. I need to find something in there. I want _full access_ ," she said, jabbing her fingers like daggers at Jane. All knives and edge.

"Done. Anything else?" Jane asked, composed and the soldier she had to be.

Jack backed away, her sharpness was still there but now it was wary and cautious. Like a cornered animal that was suddenly given an escape out of the bear trap into another cage. Her eyes flicked to the pistol pointed at her, then to Jane's face. "I don't fucking know, kind of hard to think when a damn space station is falling down around you!"

"Good point. I'll take that was a yes. Miranda, Jacob, let's get outta dodge."

The run into the airlock was a bit more desperate than Jane would have preferred. She was breathing hard as she slid in at the last second, letting the other go first as she laid down cover fire.

"Hah, military brat's breathing hard," Jack said from her corner where she was also recovering her breath.

"Not born... into the military," Jane corrected her, looking at the other woman without fear. The wolves couldn't see the soldier falter here. Cerberus, the Tenth Street Reds, she was just as watched for everything she did.

Jane didn't understand some days why she was called a hero. She tried to do good, but sometimes you can't wash the past away.

"Pfft," Jack snorted, "you act so uptight that I figured you for a spacer kid. Tch, let me know if you want that stick up your ass removed."

"Well, I'll be sure to do that after we ensure that you aren't dying of ink poisoning," Jane said as she moved to the unsealing airlock door.

"Bitch."

Jack shoved Jane to the side and went into the ship first. Miranda was right on the inked terror's heels, and whispered to Jane, "we'll monitor her closely, Shepard. Don't worry."

"Good. Don't let her catch you, she might tear the whole goddamn ship apart," Jane replied.

"To be fair, there are only three biotics on board that can do that, and you're one of them. Besides, your scars haven't healed yet, and we're not sure if you biotics have somehow fluctuated due to the reconstruction."

"You mean the Lazarus project, which I still have nightmares about?" Jane asked, a bit more aggressively than she would have preferred. "Tch, some days I'd rather be dead."

With those icy words in the air, Jane headed for the armory, feeling the relief of the armor sliding off with each moment. She arranged each carefully, because the soldier required to be organized, efficient. She held her pistol for a moment, then put it away along with her shotgun. She lingered for a moment before going to her quarters to change into her 'civvies' or her fatigues. The last garments of the Alliance. Shepard touched the N7 gently, as if she was going to wipe the paint away with anything stronger than brushing her fingers over it.

"So now the Cerberus bitch is giving orders for me to debrief?" Jack said as she charged into the armory. The glow of a charged biotic was obvious and clear, Jane knew it well enough to throw the chestplate into her locker and move to Jack.

"We do a mission, we see if you're not going to rip the ship in half, then we all go to our quarters or wherever and we all did it by the book because as long as Cerberus is happy, we all don't end up Collector test subjects, got it?" Jane was forceful, and her anger triggered her own biotics, so they were waiting for the other to flinch first.

Jack lost, leaving with only a snarl and complaints a small child would make about a long car ride or that she was partners in school with someone she didn't like.

It was then Jane realized that below the sharpness of Jack, there were weak points. It was nothing but a cover for her own mistakes or past. Shepard knew this only because she realized that Jack was everything she had been afraid to become. A crazed gangster with nothing to lose because she couldn't find anything to gain besides money and fear. Jack had a galaxy's worth of gangs to run with, and Shepard only had Earth. Shepard vowed to help Jack during this mission, as much as possible, as often as possible.


	2. Love

When did Jack start calling it love? Was it before or after she realized that she'd been denying that Jane looked good and started making jokes about how uptight the soldier behaved? Maybe it existed before, so she could just keep saying that and somehow it would make these feelings not real. After all, the Alliance couldn't care less about Jack.

No, it happened after Shepard get shot, Jack realized as she stared at her lover's bare shoulder.

The pale scar where the bullet had ripped through remained ugly and somewhat raw, but it was there. A reminder of when Shepard risked her own life for Jack. Jack refused to speak about it for a week afterward, but she found herself happy when Shepard visited her afterward. It was stupid, childish glee and they didn't do much except talk. Jack now figured that she wanted to recall everything about that moment. The heat of the shotgun in her hands, the feel of her biotics wrecking everything.

The moment she realized that her barriers had fallen while she'd been distracted. She hadn't meant to let them drop but somehow she must have or this wouldn't be happening. Then she saw the muzzle flash of a sniper's gun in the distance. Jack called herself a fully fledged bitch but she stood there stunned, trying to turn her head to see where it had come from, and in shock when she realized she would die to a goddamn mistake. To a goddamn sniper and she hadn't been fucking paying attention-

That had been when Shepard, her own barrier depleted, had shoved Jack out of the way and let the bullet rip through Shepard's shoulder instead of Jack's chest.

It had to have been then, when she saw Shepard on the ground slowly bleeding out. It had been the first time she'd ever had to apply medi-gel to anyone but herself, so the sticky substance made things more difficult as she tried to apply it to the wound. It wasn't fatal, Jack said to herself, but if she stood there like a dumbass Cerberus would probably hunt her down and try to kill her. Also Shepard would definitely die. Jack couldn't let that happen, that one damn happy thing in her whole life was slipping away.

Jack fumbled with the medi-gel pack she carried, Shepard had insisted upon it and Jack failed to see the use for it until now. When had Jack ever _saved_ a life? Jack tried to use the medicinal tool to no avail, she was still shaking from her stupid mistake earlier.

Shepard reached her uninjured arm up to Jack's hand.

Jack stopped shaking and realized that at some point Thane had left -vanished it seemed like- to check for more Blue Suns in the base. Jack was glad no one would see her crying over a stupid woman who was dumb enough to take a bullet for her.

"It's not fatal Jack," Shepard reassured, even as she continued to bleed. She pulled Jack's hands to her wound, carefully placing the gel over the gaping wound. "You're going to make me cry you know."

Jack snapped to reality when she realized that Shepard was already crying. "You goddamn bitch," Jack sniffled, "I can take a bullet, I've done it before."

"So have I, but it's my fault you're here, so in the Alliance we make sure the higher ranked-"

Jack grabbed the front of Shepard's armor and pulled her into a kiss. It seemed to last forever, and while there wasn't the need behind it that she'd felt with any other kiss she'd had, it was somehow better. Jack just hoped that she wouldn't get pushed away. Jack pulled away when she realized Shepard was barely conscious.

"Goddamnit Shepard, did you just fall asleep while we kissed, I'll kick your ass when we get back to the Normandy," Jack yelled, shaking Jane back and forth.

"The doctor does not advise shaking her, Jack."

Jack felt her face flush even more and nearly jumped at the sudden reappearance of Thane Krios. "Son of a bitch you fucking frog!" Jack yelled, "give me some more warning next time!"

"It seemed that you were both in the middle of something very important," he replied without really showing any of his emotions. Jack hated when he did that. "I believe Garrus owes me five credits."

Another scar, but this time it wasn't hers, Jack thought to herself as she laid in Shepard's warm bed. Jack had many scars, covered by tattoos and hidden within plain sight. Most people missed them, or just ignored the ugly red scars at the base of her neck or on her chest. She wondered if Shepard knew about them.

"Jack..." Shepard groaned as she shifted. "That tickles..."

"Damn it," Jack said, "didn't want to wake you. We're going to our deaths so might as well get a good night's rest, right?"

"I won't let you die, love."

"Shit, I know that. But I bet we'll be apart, no way they'll let me into the Alliance after this."

"Then let's say I love you and then go back to sleep," Shepard said, rolling over to look at Jack.

"Goddamn it, I knew you were a softy all along."

"Same goes for you."

"I love you."


	3. Light

Jane knew about the light. It was the light she'd seen after she'd died the first time, and just like before it was just barely out of reach. No matter how far she stretched out her hand, her fingers, her whole body, it was just floating beyond her grasp. Jane was so tired, of fighting, of pretending, and of being Shepard. Now she just wanted the light and just to have it all over with for once. No more battles for the soldier, and no more scars.

No more Jack either, Jane realized. The thought was like adrenaline, and Jane moved away from that light and back into the void quickly. She knew this feeling, and she wasn't going to die, because all she could see was Jack crying that first night in her cabin.

The thick eyeliner Jack wore back then made black trails down her cheeks as she leaned into Jane for comfort. Despite everything she'd seen or done with Jack, this was the most vulnerable that Jane had ever seen Jack. Jane held Jack closely, just standing there for as long as Jack needed.

Jane decided then and there that both of them would make it through this horrible war. Hell or high water she was going to save the universe. For Jack. Because Jack grew up in the darkest part of the universe, and Shepard became the source of light for her. Jane just wanted Jack to never again have to be a weapon, because Jack was the more beautiful and deep person Jane had ever met and the universe wasn't going to swallow Jack's soul and stain it black any more.

Jane wasn't going to let Jack lose herself in grief and bitterness again.

Jane didn't even realize she was opening her eyes until the sight of roses and sunflowers and honeysuckle and flowers Jane couldn't even name assaulted her. Breathing hurt, but Shepard supposed that was how she knew she was alive. It wasn't until she turned her head that she realized the room was empty and that she was completely alone.

In that loneliness, Jane thought of EDI and the Geth. The synthetics had been wiped out to ensure the Reapers would never return. Jane had just killed millions just by pulling the trigger three times. She didn't know how to take that information. Maybe it was true what they'd always thought about her, maybe she really was always willing to just get the job done no matter what. It wouldn't be hard to sacrifice friends, Jane told herself as she aimed the gun and tried not to think too hard, she'd done it before, after all.

The door hissed open and Jane realized that she couldn't see who it was through the tears.

"You- you bitch I thought-" Jack's voice rang out.

"I died once, what, you thought that I wouldn't come back even more pissed off at the Reapers?" Jane said. Her voice was dry and scratchy, and afterwards she coughed into her hand. But it was worth every second of pain to wheeze the words out.

"You... you died three times on the operation table. After the third time they thought you weren't coming back. You fucker..." Jack said, trying to sound angry through the tears, "you made Prangley cry."

"Sorry... if I had known your students would be there I'd make more of an effort not to die."

"Liar."

Jane smiled, but quickly looked away. She had to know. "Is... is EDI all right?"

"Don't know. The Normandy went MIA after all the Mass Effect relays started going down all over the place. The Alliance brass think they're stranded." Jack said, folding her arms. "Why? What happened on that Crucible thing?"

"I'm... I'm not really sure, Jack. I thought it might have wiped out the Geth too. It was... it was an anti-synthetic weapon. I had reason to believe that it might hurt EDI and the Geth."

"Whatever, that can come later," Jack said. "For now, we start planning your welcome back party. I'm thinking shots... some Asari strippers..."

"Maybe just something quiet with the people I know. I did just win a war, Jack."

"Tch, you're too boring, Shepard," Jack said as she moved over next to Jane's bed. Jack sat down on the foot of it, the joking look vanishing from her eyes. "So... what now? That's the big question isn't it?"

"Now, Jack, we spend the rest of our lives together and grow old."

"You're a goddamn sap, Jane."

"Yeah, but I think that's your dream, Jack."

"Fuck yeah it is."


	4. Dark

4

Dark

Jack liked it dark in her room, Shepard soon learned. Really, really, dark and apparently down in the bowels of the ship was where Jack would be found. Before Jack was a crew member Jane often went down there to draw, because it was so secluded Shepard often went down there to draw the shadows of the pipes and stark red light the perhaps signaled to others that they weren't allowed to be down this far into the ship's gut. Shepard liked it because if she drew down there almost nobody knew where she was or what she was doing.

The complication came when Jack joined the crew and she occupied this part of the ship and Jack liked it down and dark. Jane found herself frustrated by the fact that now this convict would know that Jane liked to draw. Jane found the idea of someone being in her space unacceptable, so she gently tried to move Jack elsewhere.

There ended up being a dent in the wall where Shepard usually stood as a result.

Jane devised a plan. She would go down there when dinner was served and draw for a few minutes. Jack had to go eat at some point, Jane figured, so the plan was made and as soon as Jane saw Jack leave for the elevator Jane made her way to the underneath of the shp and started to draw.

Jane quickly started on the dark shadows, he strokes with her charcoal quick and precise and time passed quickly. She was making hoof progress on the drawing until a biotic blast knocked Jane back and was forced to hold tight to her charcoal so as to not drop and break it.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing down here, Shepard?" a voice growled from the stairs behind Jane.

There were several options here. Jane chose the stupid one. "Not... stealing anything of yours. Just... admiring the decorations you have down here. These are some nice... weapons."

"You should have just come while I was here, then," Jack said through gritted teeth.

"You tend to be very volatile. I was merely making sure your weapons were up to snuff. For the mission, of course. Can't have your weapons breaking down as we fight... vor...cha..." Jane's soldier image crumbled the second Jack grabbed the notepad from where it had fallen earlier.

"Are you taking notes on my weapons? Using actual paper?"

"No!" Jane said as Jack picked it up and began to open the notebook to see inside. "That's... my... weapon... notebook. I write down information in it and then I-"

"Goddamn, you're the worst liar I've ever met, and I've met some pretty damn bad liars before." Jack laughed before she flipped the notebook open, and a rough sketch of the belly of the ship was revealed. "What the fuck...?"

"Uh I-"

"You did all of these? You? Jeez, I had you pegged as a straightlaced soldier without time for art or that sort of shit."

"I am," Jane said sternly trying to regain control, "and I'll court martial you if you breathe a word about this to any other crewmate."

"I'm not Alliance."

"I'll find a way."

"Heh, I'm not afraid of you, soldier girl."

"Need I remind you that the Collectors killed me once and have only since then pissed me off even more? If you're not afraid of me, then you lack fear altogether."

Jack only glared in response. Jane didn't like to pull the death card, but it made for a good scare when she needed someone to be kept in line. Although, this was the first time she'd actually used it.

"So why do you go drawing down here, soldier girl? Is because you knew that someone would stow away down here, or was it because you couldn't take the weight of being an ex-alliance officer anymore?" Jack asked, tossing the notebook back to Jane. "Come down here to cry often, or is this a new thing?"

"No, I like the contrast of the shadows and the light down here. It'd make for nice pictures as well, but those aren't going on the extranet anytime soon, now if you don't mind I'm going to go eat, since the trip down here was a waste."

"I don't mind you coming down here to draw, Shepard, I mind you trying to be goddamn secretive about it."

"Whisper a word about this to anyone and I'll feed you you own teeth," Shepard threatened again.

"Girl scout promise," Jack said with a smile that was meant to conceal her laughter, "girl scout."

A/N: The hardest part about writing is the not knowing. I know you guys leave likes and kudos, but as I was working on posting this I was stopped by doubt and uncertainty. I want to keep going, but it's just hard some days. I might scrap my other work and try again. Don't worry, I like doing the challenge, so I won't stop doing this. Please remember to be kind to the author, no matter the work.


	5. Seeking Solace

"It's Rodriguez."

"Uhmph."

"I told you it's your turn to babysit the students."

More mumbles into the pillow.

"Shepard."

Jane glanced up at the time on the alarm clock. "It's a nightmare, I don't wanna."

"You asked for this."

"I asked to teach, not be in charge of small children."

"There's not a lot of difference, and letting them back up the soldiers was your idea."

"I should have stayed a soldier."

"You think they would have let you?"

Grumbles then Jack felt the bed shift with the weight of Shepard getting up. "Still not a babysitter, or a mother."

"What's what a teacher is, Shep."

The sliding noise of the door opening and shutting left Jack alone in the bed. Jack tossed and turned for a while, but quickly decided to slide on a robe and see how Shepard was handling Rodriguez. Jack knew she didn't have to go far, since they were all put in the dorms to... 'readjust' after the Reaper War. It was smart on the school's part, putting Jack and her students nearby in case of trouble.

In the middle of the hallway, Shepard was holding Rodriguez in a gentle hug. The sharp breathing coming from Rodriguez suggested that she was crying. Wasn't hard to believe, given how many times she nearly killed someone thanks to her barriers.

"I wish I could be as strong as Jack, she... she never had to deal with this..." Rodriguez sniffled out.

Shepard looked Jack in the eye and said, "I'm going to tell you a story about Jack. It was the middle of the night, not all that long before my crew fought the collectors. I got a call from Jack, asking if she could come up to my cabin. Since I wasn't really sleeping anyway, I let her come up. She was agitated and started to pace around my cabin. It was about ten minutes before I could get an answer out of her. Turns out, she couldn't sleep thanks to her past. She just kept talking and worrying and eventually she started crying. I just went up and hugged her, like this. She hit me, but eventually just gave up and started crying even more. I was about to let go when she held my tightly and we stood there. I later was told that if I told this story to anyone I would have a hard time fighting reapers given how far up my ass her foot would go."

Rodriguez sniffled.

"I guess the threat's outdated, since the Reapers are dead," Jack said from her position in the hallway. "But I'll still kick your ass, I didn't cry that much."

"You stained my nightshirt with your eye makeup," Shepard said. "I remember because it was my favorite nightshirt."

There was a giggle from Rodriguez, and she pulled away from Shepard, her eyes still puffy from crying. "Can I get a hug from you too, Jack?"

"Hell no, kid. Go to bed," was Jack's response.

Shepard leaned down to Rodriguez and whispered something, and the younger girl practically flung herself at Jack, catching the teacher off guard. Jack awkwardly tried to glare at Shepard around the student, but Shepard was silently laughing at the situation.

Even still, eventually Jack hugged Rodriguez back.


	6. Break Away

Jane Shepard could see the sky.

All the hazy blues and scattered greys were like strokes of paint on a canvas. Jane smiled weakly atop her pile of rubble and debris. The last time she just stared up at the sky was when she had been with the Reds. It had been just as beautiful, and just as far away as it was now. Jane wanted to raise her hand to see if she could touch it, but it didn't respond.

 _Broken, then._ Maybe the sky was even farther away than she'd thought.

Every breath was effort and pain, a deathly rattle that Jane felt seeping into her bones. Jane wanted to close her eyes, let it come quickly and in her painful sleep. At least Jack couldn't see her here, on the battlefield.

Could EDI?

Jane's actions had probably killed the AI. Jane started to cry, thinking about her actions and how soon she'd have to face what she'd done. Making a robotic race sentient only to kill them all had to put her ledger in the red.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't... I couldn't see any choice being viable..." Jane said to the sky. Her faint smile vanished as her sight blurred over with what Jane hoped was just tears. "I'm leaving them all behind, even though I promised Jack..."

This was it, the ultimate moment wher Jane would break off with the Alliance for good.

"Fuck, I'm so scared. You know, as Shepard I couldn't show fear?" Jane asked the sky. "It's what they teach in the gangs, but it's repeated in the military too. Fear is the enemy, you have to fight it and shove it down. Emotions too. They get you killed. As Jane, I'm dying. I'm sorry, I sound so good at speeches normally, but..."

Jane tried to blink away the tears. "I'm not actually very good at them. Mordin probably knows that I just borrow bits and pieces from speeches I read. Either that or Legion looked it up on the extranet. I'm a shit soldier, I'm afraid. Even shittier leader. I led them all to their death."

"But Jack's safe. Her students are safe too. It's weird, but... I know there's some kind of afterlife. So I guess I'm talking to you guys that left us. We won the war. Yeah, we won. I didn't think we could, for a while."

Jane put on the biggest smile she could manage, which wasn't much. It felt good to talk to the sky. To talk to Mordin, Legion, Thane, Anderson... she could say everything she ever felt her heart wanted and no one would care. If she lived, she'd probably be court martialed for all the stunts she pulled. She could be sent away from Jack, or maybe she'd never see her crew again. If she did see them, she have to explain what happened to EDI to Joker.

"I'm tired of serving, captain. Can I be released from duty?" Jane asked at last, her voice starting to get quiet and raspy from talking so much. Her vision blurred again, but no matter how much she tried, it didn't come back.

"Is that a yes?" Jane asked, trying to sound like she was joking.

The sky didn't answer. Jane was fighting to stay awake now, the sky darkening and starting to fade away.

"My last words will be... Jack. I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise. I promised to stay by your side... ugh," Jane tried to shift to keep awake. She had to finish her thought. "I'm sorry that you'll be alone again. I'll try to stay by your side, though. I won't be able to do much, though. Sorry about that. I..." breathing was getting harder now. "I'm sorry. Out of time. Jack, I'll miss you..."

As Shepard's vision faded to black, a voice could be heard.

"There's a survivor over the ridge! I heard someone! Hurry!"

The ragtag group looked like they had literally been through hell, a group of a Krogan, a couple Turians, a Quarian, and one Human gathered around Shepard. They'd never met her personally, but seeing her broken and beaten body stopped the group in their tracks, but the Quarian didn't stop, they leaned over Jane started to work.

"Jona, she's dead," the krogan said.

The Quarian shook their head and continued to work, using their omnitool as a defibrillator. "She got us home, so I'm going to return the favor!"

The last charge caused Shepard to cough.

A/N: First regular schedule update! I'm pumped! Unfortunately, now I have to go write more before next week so I don't fall behind. At least finals week was taken care of, so I don't have to study and write at the same time.


	7. Dream

"Jack, join Cerberus with me..." Jane extended her hand, her metallic blue eyes glinting in the low light. "We'll use them to fix the galaxy!"

Jack gripped her shotgun tighter.

A pause. "I see. Why don't you just come with me to see the reaper husk again. See what Cerberus has done?"

The eyes of husk looked at Jack, their eerie blue dribbled down black lines down Jane -Shepard's face. Jack's hands trembled a little more at the calm hand that was extended.

"Jack, they made you more powerful. Imagine what you could do if you could level an entire city with just a thought. Imagine!"

It didn't even sound like Jane anymore, its voice rattled around and had the slight robotic tone of that Geth Shepard brought aboard. Jack couldn't stop looking at the smile, like it knew that Jack was too upset to stop Shepard from taking Jack with her into Cerberus.

"What's the matter, Jack? I thought you were tougher than that."

 _Blam!_

Jack bolted upright once she pulled the trigger, tears streaming down her face. She hadn't woken Jane, at least. Jack leaned over a little to check her lover's face, and confirmed that Jane wasn't husk-like. Jack quickly wiped the tears away and tried to lay back down to sleep.

It didn't come. All Jack could think of was pulling the trigger and having to let go of someone else. To watch another person she cared for die at her own damn hands. So Jack stared up at the ceiling, hoping that the calm lights from Shepard's fish tank would lull her back to sleep.

They didn't.

Jack moved slowly out of bed, moving to the datapad on the table nearby. If anything else, she'd stay up on the extranet until it was time to go eat or something.

"Come back to bed..." Jane grumbled from where she was half asleep.

Jack didn't respond, it was probably Shepard mumbling in her sleep again.

"Jaaccckkkk..."

"What?"

"The bed is cold..."

"I thought you were an N7, not a child."

"Something's wrong," Jane said, starting to dig herself out of her blanket mound, as Jack liked to call it.

"Nothing's wrong, go back to sleep we've got to deal with the collectors tomorrow."

"Is that what's wrong?"

"Those guys ain't shit."

"Is it Cerberus?"

"Fuck no."

"Jack, I need you to tell me what's wrong. I can't fix it-"

"There is no fixing!" Jack yelled, slamming down the datapad. "It's me knowing exactly what would happen if I let you in and getting a reminder about it tonight!"

Shepard reached out a hand, retracted it and sat down opposite Jack. "I promise I won't leave you."

"What if you get shot or this suicide mission becomes just that?" Jack asked, looking away.

"It won't happen."

"Your shields could fail."

"I have a backup set thanks to Mordin."

"A husk gets you."

"I have a shotgun."

"You get indoctrinated."

"I have you."

"There's no undoing indoctrination, Shepard. You saw the Reaper Husk with me. What if..."

"Then I'll ask someone else. I have a crew for a reason, Jack. But, to prove that I'm not indoctrinated," Jane cleared her throat dramatically. "I, Jane Shepard, love Jack. I hate Cerberus and wish I could mail the Illusive Man a virus that would force him to only be able to open images of... I'm having trouble thinking of something he'd be offended over."

Jack was unconvinced, but her fear were somewhat alleviated. "Asari on hanar action. No humans, it's weird and gross, and it takes a _long_ time to figure out it's porn if you find the right ones." Jack smiled when she finished, trying to picture his face.

"I do love you, you know." Jane said, once she'd stopped laughing.

"I know that," Jack said.

"Now come back to bed so I can try and get warm again."

"Aye aye, Commander."


	8. Innocence

Jane Shepard decided that a long time ago that innocence wasn't all it was choked up to be. It was easy to see that back then in Romantic times it was all about finding innocence. The search for the idyllic childhood naivete.

She and Jack agreed that one you killed someone -didn't matter the reason- there was no finding innocence. There was no... 'second innocence' that they promised at the end of a story, there was no such thing as the promise of being able to return to your previous self.

Jane killed at the ripe age of thirteen. Jack, probably younger.

Jane didn't know why she was thinking about this, while she stared at the ceiling of her comfortable prison. House arrest was just about the last thing she expected from the Alliance, but hey, who arrests the first Human Spectre?

Jane looked over at the clock. 1 am.

She checked her omni-tool. No new messages.

She rolled over on her bed. No new thoughts.

"So, innocence, huh?" Jane asked the ceiling.

It didn't answer.

She didn't want to think about back then, because it didn't matter. Every second she wasted, every minute she spent here the Reapers were that much closer to the universe. That much closer to putting Jack in danger, again.

Shepard couldn't even tell where Jack was now and it hurt. It physically hurt to think that she might never see Jack again. Especially when all she could thinking about was the desperate grab Jack made for Jane's hand when they were falling off Collector platforms. Jane's heart skipped when she missed Jack's hand the first time.

Jane rolled over to her side to try and shake the thoughts. The other ones were easier to deal with, less raw. More easily handled and discarded whenever Jane thought she could handle it.

 _Beep._

1 new message.

The thoughts could wait until after she checked to see who it was from. It was from Jack, which partly surprised Jane.

 _I cannot believe that you wrote that fuckin letter after I jokingly said I'd work on the Ascension Project. Moreover, they gave me a group of little shits to look over and teach. Half the time they're more interested in each other more than learning, but I learned that being scary is just as effective as being calm. Gotta work on it though, half the shit are scared of me..._

And the message went on. It talked about her day, her students, how she was doing, but most of all, how much she missed Jane and the Normandy.

 _All that crazy shit made me think that I could handle teaching, and let me fucking tell you that is a goddamn lie. Wish we could still travel together, or that we'd gone all pirate like I suggested._

Jane held the datapad and read it over again. Eventually, she fell asleep, the datapad loose in her fingers, but still within reach.

It became a source of strength for Jane to wait out the house arrest, and Jane even turned to indoors exercise -she could never get as intense as she preferred, but it was better than waiting- to keep up the muscle and to fill the time.

Then at 1 am, she get a new message from Jack. It was mindless chatter, and Jane couldn't reply right away without look suspicious, but those 1 am messages drove away the thoughts late at night and it made her feel open again.

Not quite a second innocence, since it wasn't the end yet, but Jane would take it and hold it close. It was good enough, she supposed, and soon they would see each other again. Everything would be safe, and everyone would be okay.

And damn if that wasn't what the Romantics were looking for.

A/N:This prompt was pretty tricky to get out, because neither this Jane nor Jack are particularly innocent. But in the process I thought about what I was studying in college and applied it. Wish I could write my essays in fanfiction form.


	9. Drive

"It's rumored you two know each other very well." Diana Allers asked, leaning in to move the microphone close to Jack. "So, tell us, what drives Jane Shepard?"

"Uh, not... dying?" Jack asked, trying not to focus on the camera. She shifted in her formalwear, feeling hot and watched in the small interview room with the dark skinned news reporter. "She just wants to kill Reapers, I've never really asked." Every second she was surrounded, the closer she got to swearing.

"Oh come on, you're saying that there's no drive to save you from the Reapers?"

"Never asked."

"Then what do you two talk about?"

"Dumb shit, but I'm not telling you anything."

Diana nodded and signalled to cut the feed. It wasn't live, but at the same time Jack felt like she'd let down the Alliance or something. Being a part of it... gave Jack conflicting feelings on letting them down.

"Okay, but how did you two ever manage to end up together if all you did back then was cuss and kill?" Diana asked, her words a light jab, but they still set Jack on the defensive.

"I thought you fucking reported only about the goddamn war. Why do you care about a couple of grown-ass women being together?" Jack had to admit that it felt good to be away from the kids and be able to swear again.

"Call it curiosity."

"That killed the cat, you know." Jack muttered bitterly as she stood to leave.

"But satisfaction brought it back," Diana replied knowingly. "Ah, well I should leave you to... whatever it is you do on shore leave."

"You fucking do that, bitch."

The interview had largely gone well, with Jack mostly talking about the biotic program she was involved with, and some of the strides they'd made in teamwork and understanding limits of others. Then Diana asked about Shepard -it kind of made sense, since she was based out of the Normandy- and Jack didn't want to talk about it.

At least every now and then, Jack would run into Jane on an errand or just trying to enjoy herself in the bar. But now, it was different. Jack wanted to talk on the Presidium -the perks of working with Shepard and saving people from the Collectors- and think about Jane. The question got under Jack's skin.

She honestly didn't know what it was that Jane Shepard fought for. The easy answer was survival of the galaxy. The hard answer was probably that Jane fought for Jack. Jack didn't like it, the idea of someone else putting her first. The last few times it had happened hadn't ended well, and the galaxy needed Jane Shepard far more than Jack, or Jacqueline Nought.

The Convict. That was Jack what had been listed as in Shepard's folders.

Two words that boiled down to what she had been. A convict. Jack tried to think if there was anything more than that, but...

The lake stretched in front of Jack, the calm making a reflecting pool. It didn't have an answer for Jack, which was irritating. Instead, Jack thought about what she was now. The Teacher, The Parent, The Loved, and The Convict.

Underneath it all, she was still herself at the core. The Convict. She wanted that simpler life, full of murder and the ability to do whatever she wanted.

"Jack?" a familiar voice asked.

"Huh? Oh you're that um, Liaran?" Jack said, not really wanting to talk. She tried to give off an icy demeanor, but it didn't stop the Asari.

"Apologies. I'm Liara, I served with Shepard when she stopped Saren. We met briefly when Shepard helped me become the Shadow Broker." Liara settled in next to Jack, watching the Presidium as a whole as opposed to Jack's lake watching. "I came out here when I served with Shepard and asked a question about Shepard I couldn't answer."

"Yeah, what was that tentacle-head?" Jack asked, still on guard but just curious enough to want the answer.

"Why does Shepard never smile?"

"What? She smiles all the time-"

"Did you ever watch the interview with her when she stopped Saren?" Liara interrupted. "It was formal, stiff. I thought that was how she was. If I wondered why she never smiled I never received the same answer per crewmate. The closest I got was when I asked Anderson after the fight against Sovereign." Jack tried to glare, but it was hard when she also wanted to know more about Jane from before Jack had known her. Liara continued, undaunted. "He said it was because she knew how to shut herself off. The soldier first and foremost."

"How does this relate, Madame Shadow Broker," Jack asked, dripping with sarcasm and some unease.

"Because you're out here looking for an answer that doesn't exist, too. It's pretty common. Kaiden came out here after Shepard..." Liara stopped, as if the memory was hard. "Shepard was announced MIA."

"She was dead. I'm not dancing around it."

"This place was where we ran around doing all sorts of errands. Then... imagine the first day I see her back and she has this photo... of you. It was on her omnitool, but she pulled it up before she went to attack the Shadow Broker. According to my data, she's opened it one hundred times."

"Bullshit."

"As Shepard can attest, my data is accurate." JAck started to leave, and Liara added, "I... hope that this helps you find the answer."

It did, but Jack sure as hell wasn't going to let the Asari know that. "Whatever, Shadow Broker. Hope that you don't end up like the last one."

Shepard's drive was Jack, and Jack would try to go forward for Jane and Jack's class. If Shepard could do all those amazing feats for Jack, then surely Jack could attain the impossible if she did the same.

Liara smiled, and turned to look out across the Presidium, her own answers still out in the air, somewhere.

A/N: Hello! Sorry about the late upload, I've been sick the last few days. I wish it was just puking a fevers, to be honest. But we roll on.


	10. Breathe Again

_Click. Click._

Jane eyed Jack carefully, watching the tattooed woman click open and shut the detonator. Jack seemed irritated, especially at Jane's insistence that Jack couldn't murder the man who tried restarting the program.

 _Click. Click._

Jane didn't like how Jack was fussing with the detonator. It was like it was being used for something other than to annoy the occupants of the shuttle.

 _Click._

It took Jane half a second to realize that the button was still exposed and primed. Jane managed to hit the cockpit door once before the explosives went off and rocked the shuttle. Shepard was grateful that Jack had some patience, as they weren't all knocked off course or crashed from that little stunt.

"What. The. _Hell._ Convict I swear-" Jane started. Her outline started to glow blue, and only intensified when Jack made her response.

"Fuck off Shepard." Jack interrupted with a smug smile. "I said I was gonna blow the stupid thing, didn't I?"

"Not while we were next to the damn thing!"

"My goddamn mission, my call... Soldier."

Jane formed and unformed a fist at the tattooed woman, instead opting to simply tower over the shorter woman.

"What, speechless because I can parrot your words back at you, dumbass?"

"No. Alliance regs say that-"

"You ain't Alliance, so speak your damn mind for once!"

"You're impulsive and- ugh! You don't even think before you act! Your actions sit like an elephant on my goddamn chest! I can barely breathe before it shifts around and breaks something else!"

"Well, that makes sense since you've got a stick up your ass too! Might as well just get-"

"You finish that sentence and I swear I'll make you clean toilets for a _month_."

Kasumi looked between the two biotics and said, "we nearly get blown up and you two need a room. Let's just get to the ship before anyone does anything they will regret." She added under her breath, "or squish the adorable Japanese thief like an ant."

Jane jabbed her finger at Jack one last time before plopping herself forcefully back into her seat. "This isn't over, Convict."

Jack smiled like she'd won first prize at the carnival.

"Jack, you are to arrive at my quarters in five minutes. Or, since you can't tell time worth a damn, get in the elevator _now_." Jane said, leaning into the PA system on her desk. Joker had it installed mostly as a joke.

He probably regretted it by now, Jane figured. She stood up and moved to finish taking off the rest of her armor, the catsuit underneath still on Jane was nice, but given that she didn't want to change in the Armory she had to finish dressing in her room.

She managed to finish putting on her Cerberus fatigues just as Jack arrived, a bottle of mostly untouched booze in hand. Jack took a swig as she entered, making it clear whose bottle it was. Jane, ever the soldier, couldn't drink while on the job anyway.

"Sit." Jane ordered, pointing at her table.

"Fuck. You." Jack's 'witty' response was predictable, but still irritated Jane nonetheless.

"Sit." Jane persisted, without change in tone or demeanor.

"I ain't doin' shit."

"Sit down, or I will space you and no one will miss you." Jane threatened, leaning in to enforce the height that she had on Jack. "In fact, I'm sure it would be a service to half the known galaxy to do so, so I say _sit._ "

Jack growled, but sat down. She took another swig after she did so and placed her bottle forcefully on the table. "So, what did you want to talk about, Girl Scout?"

"Can I tru-" Jane was interrupted by her sudden shortness of breath. She deemed it a small episode but continued. "Can I trust you?" Jane forced it out, trying to sound less out of breath than she had been just a few seconds ago.

"Did you seriously stumble on that? That's, like, four fucking words, Soldier." Jack asked, genuinely amused to see the Commander, despite her appearance, struggling with something. Jack thought it was all easy for the other biotic, but she guessed she was wrong.

"It happens. It's nothing major. Now answer the..." Shepard forced herself to take a breath. "Answer the question."

"Are... you okay? I've never seen you like this." Jack said, more out of social conventions than actual concern. "Don't, like, croak on me while you're chewing me out. They might blame me."

"Fine. Just a minor..." Jane said, leaning on the table more for support now. "Nope. Shit, I need... my oxygen tank... inhaler. Can't... breathe."

Jane had hoped that the mission hadn't aggravated the problem too much, but her implants had apparently caused another asthma attack by their inferior design blocking whatever part of her brain that told her lungs to breathe properly and automatically.

"Fuck! What? Is this a prank? Are you fucking with me right now?" Jack yelled, standing up and nearly knocking over her booze.

Jane's response was to point at where she kept her supplies for when this happened and to turn slightly blue.

"Fuck."

A few minutes of fumbling and a call to Chakwas later, Jane sat at the foot of her bed, oxygen mask over her face and _fuming_. This wasn't supposed to happen, she'd been fine right after the mission and usually the atracks happened shortly after she took off her armor downstairs. That usually took-

Except the argument with Jack had thrown everything off. Jane had come this close to using Slam on the convict and thus her timing had been off. Jane buried her face in her hands as much as possible without disrupting the mask.

"So." Jack said, trying to break the tension and to rub it in Jane's face that she had to stay while the doctor took care of Joker having broken a leg for some reason. Jane bet that it was him trying to grease the cameras again. "Every mission, she said?"

Jane started to hit her head against her knees.

"Why? Wait no, don't tell me. L2 implants." Jack said. "Shit, you got unlucky. Even growing up I knew enough about them that they made sure I had a better version than that deathtrap."

Jane didn't say anything, she'd opted to hide her embarrassment by laying her hands and face on her knees.

"Still. Better off than a lot of those poor shits. Heard about the even more unlucky L2s on Omega. Some can't feel anything at all, can't remember anything, and tend to shit themselves." Jack said. "Listen, can't say that understand, but you got to see a lot of shit about my past today so consider this payback for asking all those questions earlier." Jack punched the Commander in the arm, awkwardly trying to play nice.

Jane moved her face up and moved the mask enough to reply, "don't tell anyone about this either. I'm supposed to be invincible and came back from the dead, but Cerberus kept the L2 implants. I told them that the problem no longer existed, because I wanted to believe it too."

"Psh, we all wanna believe stupid shit. I wanna believe that I'm the toughest bitch in the galaxy. Might not be true, but I'll act like it is. Helps me unwind knowing that I could take you in a fight." Jack said, looking at the clock. One minute, Chakwas said.

"Once I recover, you, me, and the training room. No biotics, just fists."

"Pfft, I'll take you up on that. I'll fucking win, too."

"Shepard could make the biotic barrier. She's as capable of it as the rest of us." Miranda said to the room, as they planned their next move in the Suicide Mission.

Jack looked at the back of Jane's head, trying to see if that would make the soldier's thoughts more apparent. "I'll do it. Shepard's a better shot than I am. Anyone can keep my ass alive, she can. Problem, cheerleader?" Jack moved to lean on Jane, as though she were claiming the taller woman.

Miranda tried not to look like she'd eaten a lemon. "No."

Jane whispered two words to Jack, which made Jack smile.

"Damn right."

 **A/N:** 10 chapters, nearly 1,500 hits total, 8,122 words, 1 review, 8 comments, 20 kudos, 4 bookmarks, 3 followers, and 2 favorites. By a lot of people's standards, it may not be a lot, but I still want to be proud of how far this has come, and everyone who supports it by doing any of the above. We've still got a long while to go, but ten chapters is a lot more than I thought I'd ever write for this. So I wanted to take this section to say: THANK YOU! (Plus, if you want to have regular updates with announcements or talk to me, I have a tumblr: .com go ahead and send asks, prompts, whatever you want to send my way!)


	11. Memories

11

Memory

"Make good memories! You deserve to have at least two years of fun, honey." Jane's mother said out the open window of the car.

Jane stood up straight and did a half-hearted salute, and even if she didn't want it to, it still looked fairly formal. It wasn't helped by the olive green shirt and cargo pants, but she had one thing in her closet right now, and that were her military academy clothes.

"I'll pick you up here at three-thirty. Oh, have a good day honey!" her mother twittered as she drove the car out of the parking lot.

Jane waved from where her mother had left her in the parking lot. When her mother was out of eyesight, the hand balled into a fist as Jane tried not to get angry at her mother. Her mother had her reasons for the military school. Jane tried to rationalize it away, pushing forth the control she'd learned at the military school, Jane literally marched inside.

It was early, but a few students milled around the lobby as they talked in their small groups or went over their schedules again for the first day of classes. Jane felt the way she'd felt her first day of military school, like she was out of place and unwelcome. She took comfort in the fact that at least the teachers couldn't order students to do pushups on a whim.

"Hello, are you new as well?" A robotic voice asked from behind Jane.

Jane swiveled to see a girl with some kind of tablet in her hands standing there. Jane didn't want to answer her, but opted to out of societal expectations. "Yes. I transferred from Alliance Academy."

The girl typed on her tablet for a moment before the voice said, "that is a military school? You don't look like the type to be there. My name is Elizabeth, but people tend to call me Eddie."

'Eddie' was a fairly average sized indian girl with her hair in a bowl cut and rectangular glasses that nearly stretched beyond her face. She held the tablet in the crooked of her elbows, keeping it close enough to her chest that she could let go with one arm and it wouldn't fall forward. No hand was extended, however. Jane almost felt bad, but then again being as tall as she was she tended to tower over people, and the military attitude she had probably didn't help.

"Mother's choice, not mine. It was necessary, however. I'm Jane. Jane Shepard. I could help you find your classes since we're early, Miss Elizabeth."

"But you are new as well. We would only get more lost."

"We're more than thirty minutes early. The teachers aren't even in yet. I think we have time to find our classes."

"If you insist, Miss Shepard."

"We are lost."

"No, it should be easy to-" Shepard insisted. "Look, we've got up to one-fifty, right? So if we keep going down the hall then we'll reach 200."

"Shepard, that is not how school room numbering works." Eddie replied, looking up before typing once again into her tablet. "Typically, 200 number classes are on the second floor."

"Fine, you're probably right. But we managed to find... some of your classes?"

"One. Computer Application. We share that, and homeroom."

"Wait. Homeroom? Is that like study hall?"

"Yes, and no. It is easier to explain when you experience it."

"Oh. Also, 'Computer Application'?" Jane asked.

"An antiquated class on how to use a computer. The school has yet to decommission it from my understanding. It is a requirement."

"For juniors?"

"For people who transfer in without a credit that applies, yes."

"Hey, losers. You lost?" a new voice chimed in.

Eddie attempted to type something in, but Jane spoke before the shorter woman could. "Yes. Could you point us to-"

"Not my fucking problem, dumbass." The delinquent wore a dark t-shirt that barely obeyed the school uniform requirements. Her cargo pants also were torn off at the knee for one leg and simply frayed at the bottom for the other. A tattoo laced its way down her bare leg and a shaved head revealed a tattoo around the woman's head, like a halo made of barcodes and strange symbols. "Go somewhere else, Army Brat, before someone figures out my smoking place."

True to her word, she flicked a recently finished butt across the hallway into the trashcan.

"Look I don't-"

"And I don't care. Look, I've got to find my classes, dumbass. You done wasting my time?"

"We are. We apologize and will try to minimize contact with you in the future." It was now Eddie's turn to butt in, stopping Jane from rebutting to the insult.

"Whatever. You two know a Professor Anderson? I got transferred into his homeroom for this semester." Jack said, keeping her relaxed lean on the wall.

"It seems we all share a homeroom," Eddie said. "We found it not all that long ago. Perhaps in exchange we can get help finding-"

"Lead the way, Domo Arigato." Jack said as she pushed herself off the wall.

"That means th-" Eddie tried to correct Jack.

"I know what it means, I don't care." Jack replied offhandedly.

"She's... certainly memorable, isn't she?" Jane said as she started to walk with Eddie to Mister Anderson's class. "Also what's this professor crap?"

"She probably assumes that is the correct way to refer to a teacher," Eddie offered in response.

" _She_ assumes that with all the teaching certificates and degrees, that he'd prefer professor, assholes." Jack said from where she was trailing behind the rest of the group.

"Well, if _she_ would kindly give us her name, we wouldn't have to call her 'she'." Jane said, turning to look at the tattooed teen behind her.

"Jack, Jack Nought. Any more stupid questions?"

"We're here."

"Good. I hope I never see you idiots again."

Jane didn't have enough time to tell Jack that they shared a homeroom, and thus they were going to be seeing a lot of each other in the future.

A/N:

What's this? A High School AU? Yessir, we're covering a new AU or universe in general every ten chapters or so. So at chapter 21 we're moving on from this High School AU to explore another idea. I started this to give myself more room to play around with this couple and AUs, and thus keep my ideas fresh and new and basically I don't have to scrounge for ideas in the canon universe. Which leads to more Jack and Jane in the future.


	12. Prom

To many, homeroom was not much more than a glorified study hall. In many ways, it was and it was treated as such by the students in Professor Anderson's class. Professor Anderson tended to let his students guide the discussions, with minimal comments or direction. When nothing was scheduled he simply let the class do whatever with two stipulations. One, you had to remain inside the room. Two, drugs or cigarettes were not permitted, as he had noted at least one student with asthma in the roster and another with health issues. Otherwise, go nuts.

Strangely enough, despite their apparent freedom, a lot of students simply studied or quietly did whatever they wanted to at their desks. Jack loved it. Most teachers hated that she didn't want to sit still in a seat for an hour and listen to their garbage and their 'lessons'.

Anderson seemed to have a 'fatherly' aura around him, but even still he didn't really supervise the class. Jack noted that a few of the students were drawing something surpringly inappropriate on the board, but she didn't do anything about it. Mostly because it was Vakarian and Vega showing off again. Last week it had been how many pushups they could do.

There was the homework clique of the cheerleaders T'Soni, Lawson, then Eddie, Jane, and someone Jane kept calling Joker. Then there were the delinquents of Wrex, some kid who called himself Grunt -ironically Grunt was also a football player-, and Jack. Jack didn't much pay attention to the other cliques, knowing only that her clique was 'bad' and Jane's was labeled as 'good' in the eyes of the teachers. Which sucked, but Jack had learned that there was social hierarchy to it all, and she wasn't wanted in it.

Which made it surprising when Jack looked up from her notebook to see Jane Shepard standing in front of Jack's desk. Looking uncomfortable and looking to her clique for confidence.

"What do you want, Army Brat?" Jack said, leaning back in her chair as if she were expecting an unfunny joke at her expense.

"I wish to ask you to the... prom?" Jane said, and Jack was keenly aware of the stares from most of the class and the mild interest from the rest.

"No," was Jack's reply.

"Wh-"

"I said no. This is clearly a joke, so I'd rather not go and save myself some pain." Jack said, rolling her eyes. "Besides, you did it wrong. Apparently people go all out when they ask. Signs and all that shit." Not that Jack would know, because that was her previous experience of being asked to the prom, just a casual question.

She was stupid back then, but she wouldn't be now.

"Okay. But... can I ask you again later?" Jane asked, nodding seriously at Jack's comment.

"Fuck it, why not? I want to see how far you'll take this joke." Jack replied, "but I bet you can't make me say yes."

Jack pretty much knew she was screwed when she saw a light come on in Shepard's eyes. The sort of look that says without words, 'challenge accepted'.

But... it couldn't hurt to see how far this could go.

Jack laid on her messy bed, in her messy room, her phone on charge as she plunked away at some game. Something about killing zombies with a machine gun? Jack knew it was one of those zombie games, but she couldn't keep them straight anymore. She glanced at the time, noting that it was only nine o' clock.

"You Died!" the game yelled.

"Damn it, that was a cheap fucking move and you know it game." Jack mumbled to her phone as she started to tap the 'try again' button.

 _Thwack!_

 _Was that... a rock?_ Jack thought as she stood up to investigate, and saw figures on the lawn. _Nope, just a bunch of dumbasses._

She walked back towards her bed when another rock hit her window with a significantly lighter _ping._

Jack, irritated at the rock throwers, moved to the window and opened it yelling, "which one of you fuckers threw-"

Then she saw the dark cardboard signs which she couldn't read due to the lighting. It took her a moment, but she remembered her dumbass comment from earlier and groaned, tempted to jump out of her window. It wouldn't nearly be far enough to kill her and get her out of this stupid situation.

"I can't read it, you bunch of dumbasses!" she yelled, "light is necessary to read, you bunch of jackasses!"

"... shit." A voice that Jack recognized as Joker said. "I thought you said this would work, Eddie. That we had enough light for her to read these stupid things."

If Eddie was there, she didn't reply. Although one of the poorly lit signs moved up and down quickly.

"Anyone got a way to light these up?" A voice Jack knew was Jane's asked.

"Uh, there's a streetlamp down the block a little ways?" Joker suggested.

Jack opened her window the rest of the way, crawling out instead of letting the group of morons bicker for any longer. She picked out the shape that looked the most like Jane, and grabbed the sign from her.

"The answer is still no."

In the last week Jack had received: one candygram, two more signs (one of which was now torn in half), a poster (done by some art student Jane apparently knew), some choir members singing a capella, a half-hearted attempt by the cheerleaders to lure her into the gym -no doubt for another of these convoluted plans-, and one singing parrot.

"I don't get why you keep saying no," Wrex said, taking a drag on his cigarette. "If you ask me, it's damn impressive. Heh, my favorite was the parrot."

"Because it's a trap, none of those types ever ask a delinquent like me out to prom." Jack replied, resting on her hands, she didn't feel like a cigarette right now, and besides, she'd just end up smelling like smoke so she'd be tossed out of class again. "I have to admire their dedication to helping her get this date."

"Mmphmm," Wrex grunted. "Hey, you think she asked Grunt to do anything? He seems to like her for some reason."

"He's a big dumb kid. I doubt it."

"Why don't you just say yes to make it stop? Then just not go to the prom?"

Jack didn't really want to lead Jane on, but Jack's answer to Wrex was, "then I'll have to pretend to be looking for dresses, and fuck that shit."

"Mmphmm," Wrex grunted. "If you do eventually cave in, take me for your dress shopping. You dress like you belong in one of those zombie apocalypse games you play."

"You're not serious."

"I think you look good in whites or blacks, maybe reds?" Wrex said, seriously ruminating on the idea as he sized up Jack. "No, something with orange accents to go with your tattoos."

"I'm not going, Wrex, so stop trying to shop for dresses for me. It's fucking weird."

Grunt, Vega, and Vakarian all walked up to where Jack was studying -going home meant being attacked by Jane and her lackeys so she had to study during homeroom- and proceeded to try and sing something.

"Guy, stop. You're already off key, and I have something more important than your guys' desperate attempts to try and get Jane laid." Jack said, crossing her arms to show her irritation. "I won't accept it, no matter what."

"Fine," Vakarian said. "Although... you should see her latest attempt. I'm amazed she managed to get so many cliques to work together without people wanting to kill each other. At this point, only the school has declined to help her and her crazy plan. You should go to the gym after school, at least don't let the effort go to waste."

Jack gave them an incredulous look, and the trio departed.

Jack was packing up her stuff from Art, slowly assembling her backpack and putting away pencils to avoid the end of day rush that always happened when the morons heard the bell. Jack looked up to see... actually everyone was already gone. She pulled out her headphones, curious at the sudden departure of all of the people. Even the teacher.

She finished putting away her stuff quickly, now suspicious of the sudden and abrupt departure of literally everyone. Jack poked her head to see the hallways almost completely barren. A few stragglers and freshmen wandered about, but this was unusual, because Jack knew the bell had rung earlier. She'd heard it over her music, but...

"Are you a miss Jacqueline Nought?" asked a voice, which she recognized from the botched sign incident not all that long ago.

"Please tell me she's not-"

"She is."

"Gym?"

"Gym. Come on, I know that half the school's excited to see this too."

Jack didn't want to go, but at the same time it couldn't hurt to see. The mysterious end-all prom proposal that apparently most of the school was in on now. Plus it would put off having to go home.

"Fine, but really? A wheelchair? You stood fine before."

"Jane doesn't like it when I break bones doing stuff for her. It's funny, but she won't say it straight out, but she cares about everyone. You'd think the military would beat that out of her." Joker said, laughing a little at the awkward straightforwardness of Jack.

The walk was short, and Jack was ordered to stay until 'the lights signalled her to move', whatever that meant. Then Joker was gone into the darkness, and Jack was waiting at the doors to the gym.

She didn't have to wait long before a smoke machine whirred to life and started to spill smoke out into where Jack could see it. She suppressed a laugh before the drums started to play and some kind of rendition of 'Mickey' started to play.

The lights all turned on at once, a horrid display of strobes and colored lights, and revealed Jane, Grunt, Vakarian, and a whole slew of other people dancing.

Jane belted out the first lines of the song, "Oh, Jackie, you're so fine! You're so fine, you blow my mind! Hey, Jackie, hey, Jackie!"

It was the entire song, with every single instance of 'Mickey' replaced with 'Jackie'. It was hilarious if only because Grunt somehow had managed to get a solo dancing part, and he was... not a dancer at heart. Also, Jane could not sing worth a damn, but she belted it out anyway, not going to let a thing like 'pitch' or 'key' get in her way.

Jack noted Eddie in the back of the gym, fiddling with her tablet, which was probably providing the music to the terrible ordeal. Joker sat next to her, occasionally pointing at things on the tablet and trying to help.

At the end, out of breath and hand extended to Jack, a bunch of signs held up by the cheerleaders asked, "will you go to the prom with me?"

There was a moment of silence as Jack was stunned by the sheer effort and work that had gone into the whole thing. She'd expected Jane to have given up after the parrot, but all this effort... just for a joke? Jack started to cry and ran out of the gym.

Jane was close behind, Jack knew, but Jack sprinted for the women's bathroom anyway to hide in a stall. "Fuck you! This is all a joke isn't it?"

"No! It was never a joke! A dare, maybe. I dared Joker to ask Eddie out, but in exchange I had to ask you out. But I never-" Jane stopped. "I shouldn't have done this. It was too much. I'm sorry. I won't bother you again, I didn't think about what you thought."

Jack was quiet for a while, but asked as she heard the door open, "so, you really were serious?"

"Serious enough to learn the lyrics to a one-hit wonder's song and change them, then proceed to band together our homeroom, most of the school, and Anderson for one last ditch effort to try and make you say yes."

"Sounding a little manipulative, there, Jane."

"They mostly turned out to see me shot down again, I assure you." Jane said. "Except for Grunt. He just wanted to dance."

"Well, I guess now that there's the expectation on me to say no..."

"What time do you want me to show up?"

 **A/N:** **Going back to school meant that I ended up not updating last week, I'm sorry. But we're back and jeez this one is long. You'll notice on the original challenge that this chapter would have been 'insanity' but I don't like that word, especially since this is Jack's chapter. So instead this was used as a 'free space' and after conferring with my sister, this glorious monster was brought to life. I listened to 'Mickey' too many times. I blame her.**


	13. Misfortune

Is misfortune missed chances, or is it bad luck? Perhaps a combination of the two. Maybe Jane was way off base on guessing what exactly it was. If she had service at the bottom of the ravine she'd fallen into, she'd google it.

No wait, she'd call for help, then google it while she was waiting. Priorities, because Jane was fairly certain that her leg was broken and something was wrong with her chest. Probably something with a rib, and not anything wrong with her lungs. It still hurt like a son of a bitch, and she was struggling just a little to breathe. Jane tried to shift out of the position she'd taken on the ground, but immediately regretted moving at all.

Jane hoped that someone would come soon, she missed Jack.

She regretted thinking about that, too. Jack had asked Jane something. The memories were easy to access, once Jane laid still and tried not to aggravate something.

"You know, tomorrow's the twenty fifth." Jack said, trying to act like she wasn't trying to bring it up on purpose. "We should do something."

"I'm going hiking then, you could come if you want?" Jane replied, honestly clueless about why Jack would have brought up a date.

"Nah, fuck trees and all that. It's gross."

"Suit yourself."

Jane tried to remember what it was about the twenty fifth that was so important. If she had her phone working, then she could probably look at her calendar or something. No wait, she'd tried that after the conversation was over.

Nothing.

Maybe, it had something to do with them as a couple? They'd started dating shortly after what could only be called the Prom Fiasco. Jane thought about asking Jack to the Prom fondly, and then winced in embarrassment at what had happened after the dance.

But the dance had been held on the First of March, so that didn't make any sense. No wait... was it the first of March? Or...

Shit it had been on the twentieth. Which probably made their anniversary the twenty fifth. How did Jack, who often forgot homework, people's names, who wrote the constitution, remember the day the officially started dating?

"Sorry about that, it appears that I ended up going missing the date of our anniversary. I'll get better at that, Jack." Jane mumbled to the trees. "I need a calendar. Or something like that."

The sun was going down, so if Jane was going to find a way not to die during the night, she needed to do it now. Or else she'd freeze.

But she also kind of didn't want to move, because there was this patch of fading sunlight...

"Well, if they ever save my sorry ass, they'd better put 'died because she was a lazy ass' on my tombstone," Jane said to herself.

She stood -with much pain, wincing, and cursing as she could manage- and dragged herself into a clearing. She'd managed to grab sticks for a fire as she went, and once she'd plopped herself onto the ground again, she decided to try and make a fire once she recovered from the pain.

"Well, who goes hiking alone anyway? That was stupid. I don't even like this park all that much why did I go?"

After more effort -and swearing- Jane managed to make a small fire. It was warm enough, and she didn't want to have to get more sticks. She looked at the lighter she'd used, and realized that she'd stolen it from Jack weeks ago.

"I go to war, and I'll bet that Jack will snipe anyone near me before I can act." Jane said to the lighter. "Pfft, I go to war and Jack will kick every insurgent's ass before I can."

Jane had been considering joining the Army before. Now, everything was less certain, less definite. Jack was obviously to blame, but still...

Jane fell asleep at some point during the night, and woke up to a blazing pain in her side. She'd apparently tried to roll over to get more comfortable, only to aggravate the pain.

Jane decided that she hated hiking.

It was surprising how long one could be away from home before someone reported it, and even longer for someone to figure out where Jane had ended up. She figured it was some kind of petty vengeance for forgetting about their anniversary, but eventually she was placed in an ambulance and given a shock blanket while she warmed up.

Across the crowd, Jane saw Jack and waved a little before Jane realized that Jack was probably going to be upset.

And upset probably meant a slap to the face.

Jane dropped her hand and tried to retreat into the ambulance to no avail.

"Jane!" Jack yelled, crossing the crowd in far less time than Jane would have preferred, "the fuck were you thinking?"

"In my defense, we did drills and I-"

Jane braced for a punch, or a slap, but instead she received a very tight hug. It took a moment for her to realize it, and Jane eventually hugged Jack back.

"You ever do this again and I will gut you," Jack said through tears.

"Duly noted."

 **A/N:**

 **Yeah it's late, but it looks like school and reading has just hampered my ability to write. Eh, it is what it is.**

 **Next week is Smile!**


	14. Smile

"Thank you for coming."

"Of course, dear. If you need anything..."

"I will be fine."

Shake hands. Say thank you again. Repeat.

Funerals were more draining, not because of the open coffin or the urn sitting there to remind you that someone has died, but the empty promises from people you barely know. Of course, at least Jack had some leeway to be despondent, as it was Jane's mother laying in the casket. Jack knew some about the woman, had some brief interactions, but Jack was biased as Jane never said that they were dating to her mother.

She should be bitter at the woman, but it was too hard.

Being angry at the dead was something Jack figured she excelled at, but to be angry at the dead woman at the funeral was hard. It was easier to be angry at the asshole who showed up only because she was dead and there was chance they'd be in the will.

The bastards.

The worst part had to be the fact that Jane had to stand at the entrance of the church and shake hands with them. Repeat the process and not necessarily be able to grieve.

Jack decided that her funeral would involve more fun and swearing.

"Thanks for coming."

Jack also hoped that Jane would be able to still smile after all this. Sure, she was smiling now, but Jack knew it was fake. The kind you put on for strangers to make them feel comfortable enough to ignore your pain.

The line finally ended and Jane and Jack stood at the entrance of the church in silence for a long time. Jane just left her hand in the air after the last funeral goer, as if she knew she'd have to go downstairs to where they were all waiting and eating and whatever it was you do at funerals, and she'd have to do it all again.

Or maybe it wasn't at all real for Jane yet.

"Hey, we've got people waiting downstairs for you," Jack said gruffly.

"I... don't think I want to go." Jane replied, her voice betraying just how hurt she really was.

Jack was silent, unable to say anything in response.

"I don't know anyone down there." Jane said, slowly lowering her hand.

"The people from homeroom are down there."

"I don't-" Jane said, stopping her own sentence short.

"Then let's ditch. I mean, we can just go now, right?"

"I'm the host."

"Fuck 'em. Let's go mourn the old broad on our own, because let's face it, the assholes down there don't give a shit anyway."

Jane smiled at Jack suggestion.


	15. Silence

Jane hadn't wanted to do the dare.

But her pride had been her downfall. Jane had accepted it on the condition that she was allowed to call Jack for whatever she needed, be is snacks, or just to talk to someone. They'd accepted, but she had to stay there all night.

Where was she supposed to stay?

In the school. At night. Alone.

Jane already regretted everything and was killing her phone battery calling Jack about every half hour for reassurance.

"What?" Jack asked, with drowsiness and grumpiness in her voice, making it clear that Jane had woken her up. Again.

"It's just... really quiet and I wanted to talk to you." Jane said, poking her head into the art room. The deep shadows spooked Jane and she closed the door.

Jack yawned then said, "about what?"

"I don't know. Uh, maybe we could do truth or dare?"

"We aren't even in the same area, doofus."

"Please?"

Jack groaned, but relented.

"You first?" Jane asked, deciding to try and work her way upstairs next. As long as she was moving, she felt safe.

"Fine. Truth."

"First date?"

"Middle school. Your turn."

"Dare."

"Lick... I don't know lick the object nearest you that isn't your phone."

Jane stopped and saw a poster against school bullying. Everyone knew that it was bullshit, so she didn't feel guilty about licking it.

"What did you lick?" Jack asked.

"Anti-bullying poster. Your turn."

"You would have been better off licking a toilet bowl," Jack replied. "Truth."

"Is it true that you once punched a jock in the face for talking shit about me behind my back?"

"He called you gay. You've clearly bisexual, so he had it coming. Plus, he had a punchable face."

Jane decided to stay in her homeroom classroom, designating it the 'safe zone'. She was faintly surprised that everything was still there, but why would it be gone? "Uh, dare."

"Ugh, it's eleven o' clock. I'm tired. I dare you to fucking sleep wherever you are. An hour at least."

"Uh, what?"

Click.

"Jack?" Jane whimpered.

Jane settled into the corner of the room and waited, trying to drift off the sleep. Jane never knew that anywhere being so silent would unsettle her that much.

 **A/N:**

Nothing much happens. Kind of a fluff chapter I guess. Inspiration has just been hard as of late, I guess.

find me on tumblr at .com


	16. Illusion

16

Illusion

illusion

 _noun_

a thing that is or is likely to be wrongly perceived or interpreted by the senses.

This had been the third time that Jack had caught Jane in a lie. First it was something about having to go home early because of homework, then it was something about how Jack couldn't hang out with her because it was apparently 'family time' and both time Jack saw Jane on main street, homework-less and without her mother.

Jack didn't like the fact that Jane was keeping secrets from her, and it either meant something bad was going to happen, or that Jane didn't like her anymore and was lying to avoid making a scene.

Clearly, this required further investigation.

Jack began by pretending to be busy after school, something about checking out a school club or something, and then waiting to tail Jane after school. The job required patience and careful planning. Both of which were Jane's forte, but Jack could make do for a bit, especially since Jane seemed distracted during class today.

Jane entered a flower shop, and Jack couldn't see what Jane did inside, as the window was blocked up with all the flowers and decorations, so she decided to look at the window for a bit, until Jane came out again. The quiet time allowed Jack to think on why Jane could possibly want to visit a flower shop. Funeral? Grave? New girlfriend?

The possibilities were too endless for Jack to piece together, so she moved into the alleyway before Jane exited the store, laughing.

"Please don't be late on the delivery, it's really important!" Jane said as she exited, and Jack's suspicion only grew.

She became increasingly convinced that Jane was giving these flowers to someone else. Then again, it wasn't uncommon for Jane to spring surprises on people, and go for the big and grand romantic gestures. This was the first time that she hadn't given Jack an inkling as to what it could be, however.

The next store was a bakery across town, which was werid because Jack had been pretty sure they passed a few along the way which had been even fancier than the one Jane had gone into. Jack decided that Jane was probably buying sweets from their favorite store, which Jack recognized from the sign.

Nothing suspicious, but all the same, Jack didn't like the fact that Jane had visited the flower shop. The other store could be explained away, but the flower store... Jane didn't even like flowers!

Jack decided to turn in, abandoning the trail for the sake of her sanity. Jane clearly wasn't even done yet, but Jack just wanted to go home. She walked up to her door, defeated by Jane and willing to accept it. Whatever the other woman was doing -cheating probably- was fine. It didn't mean anything, anyway. Just one more shitty time to pile up onto Jack already shitty life.

Just when she'd thought that it would work out for once...

"Surprise!"

"Wh-"

"Happy birthday, Jackie!"

"Never-"

"Don't tell me," Jane said, feigning smugness. "You forgot!"

"I didn't-"

"Did too. Haha, what did you think I was doing?" Jane laughed. "Wait. Did you think...?"

"That you were cheating? Not for a second."

"Totally did." Joker said from the couch, next to Eddie.

"I agree. Jane probably would sooner chew off an arm than cheat on you, Jack." Eddie added.

"I promise it's just me and you from now to the end of time, Jack." Jane said, pulling Jack into a hug. Jack tried to squirm out of it, but it just tightened.

Jane would never admit it, but Jack knew that this hug would have gone on forever, a silent promise.

 _I'll never let you go. Not for a moment. Not ever._

 **A/N:**

 **Achievement: Last possible moment! As we speak (or read, whatever) it is only 11 on Saturday. I haven't missed an update day! HA**

 **Also, I wrote all of this last minute and all day today. I didn't mean to screw around too much but eh.**

 **Say hi! . com**


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